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Home My WebLink AboutARB202000107 Correspondence Critical Slope Waiver 2020-10-12GDN HOSF October 7th, 2020 TO: Christopher Perez, County of Albemarle - Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road, North Wing Charlottesville, VA 22902 RE: Verizon Wireless - Scruby Property — Tier III - Personal Wireless Service Facility - Special Exception Request for Critical Slope Waiver on Rural Areas (RA) Parcel Dear Christopher, This letter is being submitted pursuant to section 4.2 as a request for approval of a Special Exception to allow disturbance of critical slopes for the installation of a Personal Wireless Service Facility ("PWSF"). The fasiliiy-siteoroiect compound, which consists of 1,600 square feet in area -and when combined with the access roadaernbined, equals 3,900 square feet of the - total disturbed area. Approximately 1,960 square feet (50%) of the total disturbed area area in- 1Me critical slopes ,and those slopes are located on41En1in& within the proposed access road to the PWSF. This slope was man made, created when the parent parcel was split during the interstate 64 construction project. AreaAmaa of critical slopes have been identified, and Verizon Wireless will address the following health, safety, and welfare concerns set forth in Section 4.2.5(a)(1) of the ordinance: Raoid and/or larae scale movement of soil and rock During construction, the site will be stabilized using erosion control measures outlined in the plans, including a silt fence that will keep soil on the parent property. Excessive stormwater run-off The finished surface of the site will be semi -pervious, consisting of gravel over a meshed layer of synthetic fabric. This combination of gravel and fabric placed over compacted subgrade soil will allow stormwater to drain back into the ground instead of flowing off -site. Siltation of natural and man-made bodies of water No existing bodies of water have been identified on the subject parcel and the proposed PWSF site accounts for a small portion or 4.4% of the property's overall area, which contains a total of 1.10 acres. The proposed compaction combined with the layer of synthetic fabric below the gravel will stabilize soil within the lease area and the access road. These factors, combined with the vegetation to remain around the facility and road will help to ensure silt does not travel to water features on nearby properties. Loss of aesthetic reseurceresources The limits placed on tree clearing for the PWSF are intended to ensure that trees important for screening and camouflaging alhg facility will remain intact. The location of the access road was chosen to insureensure only six (6) trees needed to be removed to install the access road. Other options were explored that would limit the need for this waiver, but numerous large trees would need to be removed to install Mat& h access i n . Van Yahres tree company will prepare a certified arborist report in order to determine the methods of protecting trees that have been identified to remain at this site, and, once the final 513 Stewart Street Suite E Charlottesville, VA 0 GDNsit report is completed, it will be submitted to the County- prior to building permit submittal. Greater travel distance of septic effluent This will be an unmanned facility that will not have a septic system or any other form of plumbing. Therefore, the concern for possible impact on the travel of septic effluent is not relevant to this request. Section 4.2.5(a)(3) allows the commission to waive the restrictions on disturbing critical slopes upon finding the following (in part): a. Strict application of the requirements of section 4.2 would not forward the purpose or otherwise serve the public health, safety, or welfare. Critical slopes regulations in the Rural Areas are largely focused tewardQn ensuring that adequate building sites can be attained for dwellings or other uses dependent on sewage systems without large -scaled, adverse impacts to critical slopes-. Section 5.1.40(C)(1) states, "Notwithstanding section 4.2.3(a), a facility is not required to be located within a building site." Therefore, the building site requirements related to critical slopes are not relevant to PWSF's. The proposed facility complies with the design and siting requirements for Tier 11 PWSF's in order to minimize visual impacts. Therefore, a strict application of the critical slopes provision would not further the purpose of the zoning ordinance as it applies to this PWSF. b. A "•'^ eAlternatives proposed by the developer efQ subdivider would satisfy the intent and purposes of section 4.2 to at least an equivalent degree. Any alternatives that would satisfy the conditions of this ordinance would require the need Awto remove more than the six (6) trees proposed to be removed to construct the access road for the proposed PWSF or would require '4e"^^ ^F a new entrance to be installed along Greenwood Station Road. Therefore, the entrance road as designed_ would have the least amount of impact on natural resources without causing soiUrock movement, excessive storm water run-offff_ or other disturbances. c. Due to the property's unusual size, topography, shape, location or other unusual conditions, excluding the proprietary interest of the developer or subdivider, prohibiting the disturbance of critical slopes would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the use of the property or would result in significant degradation of the property or adjacent properties. The preservation of this small area of critical slopes does not necessarily restrict the use of the property. e RY& A/so, it should be recognized that the critical slopes proposed for disturbance are man-made and tied to the construction of /-64 when the parcel was split from the parent parcel. d. Granting the modification or waiver would serve a public purpose of greater import than would be served by strict application of the regulations sought to be modified or waived. Since the adoption of the wireless policy there have been several other Tier 11 and Tier 111 treetop PWSF's approved in areas where critical slope disturbance is necessary. These approvals are normally granted when it can be demonstrated that the overall goals for minimizing visual impacts are addressed and disturbance of critical slopes is limited to the minimum amounts necessary. The location of the proposed road will give the most direct 513 Stewart Street Suite E Charlottesville, VA GDIN route into the site, without creating additional tree removal or a new entrance instalWiensinstallation. Conclusion When considering critical slopes disturbance in relationship to Personal Wireless Service Facilities, the requirements and policies for minimizing ibavisual impacts of the PWSF's have been instrumental in guding aiding the decisions to grant waivers. In this case, critical slopes disturbance is very minimal and Verizon Wireless will utilize the proposed site design, tree conservation, and construction techniques to address the requirements of Chapter 4.2 in a more site -specific manner. Therefore, we appreciate your thoughtful consideration in analyzing this modification request for consistency with the critical slopes regulations. Please not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience if you should have any questions, comments or concerns, or will require any additional information for the review and approval of this request. Sincerely, A), Nathan Holland Senior Site Development Manager GDN Sites — Consultant to Verizon Wireless Phone: 757-305-8420 natha n. holla ndkgdnsites.com 513 Stewart Street Suite E Charlottesville, VA Document comparison by Workshare 10.0 on Friday, October 9, 2020 3:39:22 PM I n put: Document 1 ID iManage://WM-IW-APP.WILLIAMSMULLEN.COM/IWOVR IC/43579542/1 Description 43579542v1 <IWOVRIC> - Mirador Farm - Special Exception Request Letter - Critical Slopes Waiver - Final Document 2 ID iManage://WM-IW-APP.WILLIAMSMULLEN.COM/IWOVR IC/43579509/1 43579509v1 <IWOVRIC> - Mirador Farm - Special Description Exception Request Letter - Critical Slopes Waiver - Ihs edits 10-9-2020 Rendering set Standard Legend: Style change Format change Inserted cell Deleted cell Moved cell Split/Merged cell Padding cell Statistics: Count Insertions 32 Deletions 23 Moved from 0 Moved to 0 Style change 0 Format changed 0 Total changes 55